Umoja Fire: Families Struggle to Rebuild and Restore Their Homes.

Some of the Umoja Estate residents who lost their properties to fire.

This past one week has seen various delegations of well-wishers pay visit to victims of the Umoja Inferno that rendered close to 100 families homeless. The close to 100 families who were left homeless after an afternoon inferno gutted down their homes at the sprawling Umoja Estate Thika on Tuesday 29^th August 2017 are slowly working towards rebuilding their homes, but are requesting for more assistance from well-wishers.

A spot check by Thika Town Today news team revealed that even though various well-wishers have come to their aid, by either donating various items, there is still room for more.  Majority of the population affected are men and women of middle age who lost everything to the fire, and since that inferno they have been forced to put up in different places within Umoja Estate.

“We remain grateful to those who come to our aid after the inferno gutted out homes, for their speedy response, but truth be told our lives took a 360 degrees turn after the unfortunate incident, we have been relying on what well-wishers have been donating to us,” said one of the victims who sought anonymity.

The victims are appealing for help in:

Counselling Services

 Many of the affected families are yet to come into terms of the loss and some of the children who were at home when the fire gutted the houses are still suffering from small episodes of trauma,  “My small child is very scared after what she witnessed on Tuesday, she was playing when the fire broke out, though she wasn’t harmed physically; what the incident did to her physiologically is tough, anytime she sees neighbours burning litter or lighting up jiko’s she runs away screaming either thinking the fire might spread,  we are therefore requesting for counsellors to come and help us according to one of the parents.

Assistance in replacement of vital documents.

For some it is still a bitter fruit to swallow after losing their personal effects to the fire, and are requesting if it possible the Government through the relevant ministry to come to their aid in fast tracking replacement of crucial documents such as ID cards, Birth Certificates, Title Deeds, Log Books for their motor bikes and so on.

Stationaries and learning materials.

For most school going children it was a week that there schools were meant to re-open after the August holidays, however due to the calamity, most of their learning materials were dazed down forcing them to either relying on notes from pupils in lower classes or starting afresh. 

There is a great need for well-wishers and other stakeholders to do a follow up and see that the Umoja Estate Residents have gotten back to on their feet